Situations: Thirty Reasons to be a Hero
by Rachey x Bunny
Summary: IchiHime . This is a collection one-shots/drabbles for a livejournal 30 hero themes challenge. Some themes may be graphic, we'll include warnings. Some are AU as well, where others are canon.
1. fall from grace glory

**Strength**  
_2 - Fall from Grace_

**Disclaimer:** Do I look like Tite Kubo to you? No? Then yeah.. I don't own Bleach nor am I making any profit from this ficlet. Okay, I lied I'm making a profit but it's only in fangirl squees. No money.

**Rating:** PG**  
Warning:** Minor spoiler warning. Very minor.

* * *

He had failed.

His mind kept replaying the scene over and over again – how Chad and Tatsuki had been on the ground injured already when he had shown up. He had been too late to protect his friends. Still, the memory that hurt the worse was watching as that bastards hand came down – as if in slow motion – and struck Inoue. She had only been trying to _protect_ everyone… she had been trying to protect _him_.

And the concept of _her_ protecting _him_ was unfathomable.

_He_ was supposed to be the strong one, able to take down any threat that would hurt them. He was a Shinigami and it was his job to protect the innocent. Instead, he couldn't even win a difficult battle without loosing control. He could feel it, even now – the darkness was drawing closer and he was _slipping_ further into it.

It wasn't like she wasn't strong as well. Inoue Orihime was indeed a strong woman, she had many great qualities that benefited her both in the way she lived her life and the way she stood by her friends. She was brave too, willing to risk her own life to protect as many as she could. The problem was, she wasn't the one that should have to carry the burden. Ichigo had made the promise to protect his family, his friends and the town. Inoue… she shouldn't have that weight to carry on her shoulders.

…And he was afraid for _her_.

She was too gentle a soul to have to carry the weight of battle on her shoulders, and he was losing more of himself every day, every second. Hirako had been _right_. The hollow inside of Ichigo drew closer and closer, and he couldn't keep fighting it off. Anytime things got tough, anytime he was too weak to keep going – **he** would come and take control. He made it a game almost, taunting Ichigo with the power and strength that he held, but Ichigo could never control it for himself.

And unlike Ichigo, he hungered for battle.

All he could do was bide his time until the darkness would completely devour him, and then **he** would be in control. He would destroy this town. Eventually, his friends would be forced to kill _him_. And what about Inoue? She was too gentle and caring, there was no way she'd be able to fend off the hollow inside, because all she ever saw when she looked at him, was_him_.

Inoue Orihime saw through the tough exterior and the constant scowl. She recognized when Ichigo was not as well as he let on to be. She may seem like the typical airhead, with a strange taste in foods, but she was also a true friend. She had always been there, on the sidelines – even before they began to work together. Inoue knew Ichigo better than most people, and she knew him because she paid attention.

If he lost to the hollow inside, there was no way she'd be able to fight back. The best he could hope for is that she would run away and not look back when it happened. However, he knew… without having to ask or thinking very hard about it, he _knew_ that Inoue wouldn't do that. That wasn't like her. She would stay because she would want to try and help him, however she could.

He could really only pray that she would manage to defend against the attacks of the hollow. If Ichigo hurt her – or worse – he would not be able to live with himself.

Because even though it was his job to protect everyone and to fight, she was the true hero. Ichigo fought because it was all he was good at, and now… he fought because he wanted to protect them all, and he kept on failing. Inoue, she fought with a different kind of strength. The Shun Shun Rikka were strengthened by her will to protect. With someone like Inoue, her heart was always in the right place.

Part of Ichigo hoped she'd keep her distance and that she wouldn't get much closer to him. The other part wanted her there to catch him. Believing that maybe… just maybe she'd be the one there to catch him when he did fall from grace.

**Author:** Rachey


	2. sing

**For Her**

_20 – Sing_

**Disclaimer:** God, I hate these things. No, Bleach nor its characters belong to me, they belong to the great Kubo-sensei, whom, sadly, is not me. The only things I am getting out of this are giggles and squees, not cash, ya dig?

**Author**: Bunny-chan**  
**

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warning:** Everybody but Hime-chan has dirty mouths!

------------

There were many things in life that did not scare Kurosaki Ichigo. Being able to see ghosts for as long as he could remember? No big deal. Becoming a substitute shinigami? No problem. Saving the shinigami that had given him his powers? Piece of cake. Rescuing the person he cared most about? Easy as pie. But this? This scared the hell out of him. His throat was dry, his palms sweaty, and he was pretty sure he was shaking a little. This was definitely one of the last things he wanted to do, ever. It was hard to deny her anything though, but this…this was the one thing he had to put his foot down on. 

"I'm not doing it."

"What? Ichigo, you little-"

"It's fine, Ichi-kun, I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

"Look, Ichigo, you made her cry! What kind of jackass makes his own girlfriend cry?"

"She's not crying, she's perfectly fine! And anyway, stay out of this, you midget bitch!"

"Oi, don't call her a midget bitch!"

"YOU CALL HER A MIDGET BITCH ALL THE TIME!"

"THAT'S_DIFFERENT_, I CAN DO THAT!" 

"HOW THE HELL IS IT DIFFERENT?"

"A-anou, please stop shouting…" 

The two voices immediately quieted down, the pleading in Orihime's voice causing them to look sheepish, "Good, you deserve to feel like morons." Rukia nodded, patting Orihime on the arm.

Ichigo scowled at Rukia, but made no further comment, instead focusing on the ginger-haired girl. She really _did_ look disappointed, and maybe a little sad, though it was clear she was trying to hide it. Causing Orihime sadness was not on his agenda, as far as he was concerned, his job was to personally destroy anyone who so much as made her shed a tear; too bad it looked like he was going to do that to himself. 

Always attuned to his mood, she looked up at him, smiling gently, "Really, it _is_ okay! You don't have to do it."

Renji let out a cough, the word coward clearly heard. Rukia let out a snicker, and Ichigo was sure his scowl had deepened. Soft fingers wrapped themselves around his, and his scowl softened slightly. Even when she was upset, disappointed, or sad, she always had a smile for somebody, but the one she gave him was always special, reserved especially for him, and nobody else. He supposed that was what spurred him to do it, he could take Rukia and Renji's taunts, but he couldn't stand seeing Orihime unhappy. "Goddamnit…" he grumbled, his girlfriend blinking at him as he stood up and stalked over to the karaoke machine.

When he was finished singing "I'll Be Your Hero", he stomped back to the couch, ears burning red as he flopped down next to Orihime, burying his face in his hands. He almost choked on his own saliva as Renji slapped him on the back, nearly knocking him off the couch, "Didn't know you had the balls, Ichigo!" 

"Fuck you." He grumbled to the red head.

Rukia had her head tilted to the side, tapping her forefinger against her chin in thought, "Renji…why don't you ever sing for me?"

The shinigami sputtered, clearly thinking of something to say that wouldn't get him in deep shit. Ichigo smirked in triumph, served the jackass right, anyway. He turned to face his girlfriend, who beamed brightly at him, and he wasn't expecting her weight against him, the arms thrown around his neck, or her lips pressed to his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, ignoring Renji and Rukia's wolf whistles. If he got kisses like this, he wouldn't mind singing more often.

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	3. unexpected

**Keep Going**

_3 - Unexpected_

**Disclaimer:** ...no...-stomps off-

**Author: **Bunny-chan

**Rating: **PG-13

**Warnings:** Bit of violence, annnd...maybe spoilers?

**Author's Notes: **Ooh, first time for teh notes in this! Okay, so, before anybody bothers me about Hime being OOC, BE QUIET! I do NOT think she is being OOC, because the entire reason she has her powers (okay, not ENTIRELY, I suppose she can thank Ichi for it too...) is because she wanted to be able to protect somebody for once...so there. NOT OOC! ...-leaves!-

--

She didn't make a sound as she was flung onto the ground, barely even winced. She had been through worse, after all, this was nothing. She pushed herself back up, eyes narrowing at the enemy before her, he was all that was stopping her from getting to Kurosaki-kun, and she couldn't have that. The brute of an Espada stared down at her, already raising his fist to strike her again. She wordlessly called out Baigon, Hinagiku and Lily, the three shielding her from the attack, the triangular barrier not even shaking, where before it would've shattered on contact. Orihime stood up slowly, as the hits continued to rain down onto her shield; she steadily continued forward, eyes narrowed, as she mentally conversed with the three, '_Are you alright?_'

'_We're fine, Orihime-chan!_' Came Lily's cheerful voice, she didn't sound winded or anything else that might have given away that she was in the middle of protecting Orihime.

'_As long as you want to keep going, we'll keep going too!_' Hinagiku piped up, always loud, even in her mind.

'_Protecting you is everything, Orihime-san_' Baigon's words made her think of the promise Kurosaki-kun had made to her oh-so-long ago, '_I will protect you...without fail!_' So this time, she'd prove that she didn't always need protecting, this time, she'd protect him.

The dark skinned Espada reached for his zanpakuto, obviously tired of "playing" with her. She wasn't entirely sure how well her shield could hold up to whatever he was going to do, so she decided to stop him before he could do anything, '_Tsubaki-kun, are you ready?_'

'_I'm always ready, woman, the question is, are you?_' Was his annoyed reply.

'_It's for Kurosaki-kun; of course I'm ready, but...don't kill him, not if you don't have to_'

'_Tch, I didn't need to know your reasoning, a simple yes or no would've been fine, and alright, I won't kill him...It might be fun playing with the bastard first_' She could imagine that if he didn't wear his mask all the time, he'd be grinning maniacally at this point, and almost started to feel sorry for the Espada, until she realized that he was trying to kill her, and keep her from getting to Kurosaki-kun.

Once again, she skipped the incantation, her hand touching her hairclip the only sign of what she was doing, as Tsubaki flew forth, the glowing, thin barriers slicing off the arm holding the zanpakuto. Orihime forced herself to ignore the screams, and the blood, as Tsubaki flew back to her, awaiting her next command. She had to keep going, she couldn't falter for even a second, it didn't matter how much she hated violence, against anyone really, even hollows, because her thinking was that they were human once, they probably couldn't help what they had turned into. She had to wonder if there was a way to get past him without killing him, but she highly doubted it, he had been angry before, but she knew he was going to be absolutely livid now that she had cut his arm off.

Pain seared through her forehead, as she yelped, Tsubaki glowering at her, "Woman, what the hell are you doing?! Stop daydreaming!"

"That hurt!" She whined, rubbing the red mark, "And I'm thinking!"

"Stop thinking, and start doing! Don't let that jackass win."

"But I don't want to kill him!" She protested.

"You don't have a choice, idiot! If you don't kill him, he'll keep trying to kill you!" He retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's right, Orihime-chan! The longer you wait, the harder it'll be to actually go through with it." Lily informed her, landing on her shoulder.

"It's better to get it over with quickly." Baigon stated.

"Like ripping off a band-aid!" Hinagiku piped up.

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but smile lightly at their antics, and she inhaled sharply, before nodding to Tsubaki, who, without wasting another moment, shot out again. He swatted at the fairy furiously, but Tsubaki dodged it all, slicing into skin easily, drawing large amounts of blood, before returning back to the ginger-haired girl, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time." He sounded strangely cheerful, and that sort of creeped her out.

"Tsubaaaakiiii!" Lily drew out his name annoyingly.

"Whaaaat?" He rolled his eyes.

"Are you gonna kill him, or what?" Lily tilted her head to the side, eyes shining behind her goggles.

"I don't know, am I?" He turned to Orihime questionably, giving her a look that stated 'I better be able to kill him, damnit'.

She sighed, lowering her head, she really, really did _not_ want to kill somebody, but...it didn't look like she had a choice, "Go ahead." Her voice was barely a whisper, but Tsubaki heard it well enough.

She turned her head to the side to avoid watching Tsubaki slice straight down, from head to toe, didn't want to see him _fall apart_, didn't want to see him fade away, but she knew she had done the right thing...for Kurosaki-kun. When she knew it was all over, she couldn't quite stop her knees from buckling, and she toppled to the ground, hands just barely stopping her face from kissing the dirt. "Orihime-san!" Came Ayame's surprisingly frantic voice.

"Do you need healing?" Shun'o asked, definitely calmer than Ayame was.

"No...I'm alright, really, I guess that just...took a lot out of me." She pushed herself up into a sitting position, staring at the worried faces of her eternal companions, even Tsubaki looked a little worried, but he looked more annoyed than anything else.

"Can you keep going?" Baigon questioned hesitantly.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, before nodding, smiling lightly, "Of course I can."

She would keep going because she had to, she had to find him, had to protect him, had to...be with him, he was everything. She stood up slowly, the six hovering around her, "I'm okay, you can return now."

"Are you sure?" Hinagiku asked.

"Positive, I'll call you if I need you...promise." With that said, they reluctantly returned to their placeholders, her hairclips returning to hold her hair back in place.

She took a deep breath, wiped the dirt off her knees, and started to move forward again. '_Just hold on, Kurosaki-kun, I'm on my way..._'

--


	4. 1000 years ago

**Protect Her**

_12 - 1000 years ago_

**Disclaimer: **The answer to that would have to be a resounding, "NO!"

**Author: **Bunny-chan

**Rating: **PG-13

**Warning:** Blood...yay...

--

There was blood on her clothes, on her hands, it was everywhere. It was all over and she couldn't get rid of it, she couldn't get rid of Sora's blood. She had tried to stop his blood flow, but there were too many wounds, too much blood, and it was all pouring out, dripping, splattering, everywhere. She hadn't known what to do except carry him on her back and take him to the nearest clinic, which just so happened to be the Kurosaki Clinic. Maybe she had been stupid, she should've thought to ask someone to call for help, somebody who was well equipped for things such as car accidents, it would've been easier if she had a cell phone, but she was hopeless with such technology. She had carried him on her back, brought him here, and that was that. She had always heard tales of mothers able to lift trucks off of their children because of the adrenaline rush, she had always thought it was a myth until she herself had done something similar.

She grasped fistfuls of her skirt tightly, bloodying it even further, but that was probably the furthest thing from her mind. She didn't want to be alone, she had begged him not to leave her, _"Please, onii-chan, don't leave me all alone!"_ Pleading, begging, crying, it wasn't enough, he wouldn't stay, he _couldn't_ stay, not with wounds like that, in a place like this, and it was _all_ **her** _**fault**_. If only she had said something before he had left for work, maybe…no, she was no idiot, it wouldn't have changed a thing, he still would be laying in a clinic, bleeding to death. What would she do without Sora? He was her sky, all she had to do was look up, and there he'd be, always watching over her, always protecting her, he was her _hero_, and now he was leaving her. Maybe she shouldn't be thinking like that, maybe if she thought positive thoughts, he'd be okay, this was just a simple clinic, it wasn't equipped for the surgery that Sora needed, but maybe he'd be okay until the ambulance came if she just thought _positive_.

So caught up in her thoughts, trying to be positive, with her eyes shut tightly, she didn't notice the presence next to her, not until the cool washcloth was pressed to the drying blood clinging stubbornly to her cheek. She nearly jumped out of her seat, and brown eyes peered at her for a few seconds, before blinking, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

She squinted a little, trying to place who this boy was, "You're the boy who let us in, you're the one who opened the door."

"Yeah, I am." It was simple and to the point, and the washcloth was back on her face before she could blink.

He carefully and silently cleaned the blood off of her face, before starting in on her arms. She pondered briefly about asking him his name, but figured if he wanted her to know so badly, he'd probably just volunteer the information himself. He was being nice to her though, cleaning her up when he didn't have to, and if she could find her voice, she would thank him for it, "Do you, uh, want me to clean your legs too?" Came his hesitant voice.

She jumped again, inwardly sighing, wondering how many times this orange haired boy was going to be able to scare her in one night, it probably didn't help that her nerves were already fried though, "It's…okay, I can do it myself."

She took the washcloth from him, its previously pristine white color tarnished pink by her brother's blood. She quietly cleaned the blood off of her legs, before dropping the cloth into the basin of water with a dull splash, as she leaned back into her chair with a sigh. Silence reigned as she curled her fingers into her skirt again, and for some reason, she wasn't surprised he wasn't making an attempt to speak, he didn't seem like the talkative type to her. She wanted him to speak though, she wanted somebody to say _something_, because the silence was driving her crazy, she didn't want to only listen to her thoughts. Almost as if he had read her mind, he spoke up, "I haven't seen you cry once."

She blinked a few times, "N-nani?"

"Most people would've cried by now, I haven't seen you shed a tear."

She shook her head, "I've cried, but…it didn't help, so I won't allow myself to cry anymore, if I cry…it'll be like I've resigned myself to admitting that…that he…" she swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to speak past it, she wanted him to understand, she _needed_ him to understand.

He gave her a surprisingly soft look, "It's alright, I get it, I understand."

A surge of irrational anger rushed through her, and she spoke without meaning to, "What makes you think you understand at all?"

For his part, he didn't seem affected by her anger, "I've been where you are."

It was simple and straight-forward, and just like a deflated balloon, she slumped back into her chair, all the anger rushing out to be replaced with embarrassment and heart-aching remorse, "I'm sorry…I didn't know."

"It's fine, how could you have known?" She twisted her head to face him, but he was staring off at nothing, hands in his lap, and for the first time, she allowed herself to really _look _at him.

He looked to be around her age, wide, brown eyes, and spiky, orange hair, he was frowning at the moment, and something told her he scowled like that a _lot_, if it was any other day, any other moment, maybe she would want to chase his frown away. She briefly allowed herself to wonder what he'd be like when he grew older, would he be big and strong, somebody's protector? She wouldn't be surprised if he did grow up to help people, he had already helped her, after all, even with just such a small thing. Suddenly, he turned to look at her, and she couldn't stop the redness that rose to her cheeks at having been caught at staring him. "You alright?"

She nodded, offering him a tentative smile, suddenly wishing she still had her long hair to hide behind. She still wasn't used to her short hair, and she didn't think she ever would be, she always hoped she would be able to grow it out again though. His next words startled her our of reverie, "You'll be alright."

She inhaled sharply, watching him intently as he started to reach for her hand, but pulled himself back, and a mixture of disappointment and relief flooded her veins, she didn't know how she would react if he held her hand, "Whatever happens, you'll be alright, I know you will."

He didn't offer her any false hope, no soothing whispers of, '_Your brother will be alright_', or, '_The ambulance will come in time, don't worry_', just what he perceived as the truth, and she was grateful for that, "Thank you."

"No problem."

He stayed with her until the end, a silent and reassuring presence, a look of compassion and understanding in his eyes, as he offered to walk her home, and she declined, trudging silently out of the clinic, body numb. She never thought to ask for his name that day, and it would be years later before she found it out, when she saw him again. And just like that, he was back to protecting her, falling back into it even though he had only helped her once before all those years ago. And once again, she could never put into words just how grateful she was.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun."

"For what?"

"Being there for me, protecting me, I can't thank you enough."

"It's my job, I don't mind it."

She smiled then, all blindingly bright, and he managed to do the one thing he had wanted to do ever since meeting her that day in his clinic. He took her hand in his, and pulled her close, a kiss pressed to her forehead, as she blushed slightly, resting her head on his shoulder. She took comfort in the fact that he was her protector now, and she'd be forever grateful to him for that.

--


End file.
